Maddy has a story to tell: a former St. John Ambulance volunteer, she recollects the strange encounter she once witnessed between George, a fellow volunteer,
and Usman, a refugee, at a village summer fete. 

George and Maddy are a frequent double-act at such events. George – bluff, ex military, a fount of old-school, wise-cracking banter (and St. John Ambulance
trivia), now close to retirement, and a self-appointed mentor to Maddy – asthmatic, unlucky in love, but with more than enough wit to outsmart George. They
make a sweet, if nerdy, team. 

The fete is what you’d expect: outsized veg, primary school art display, scruffiest dog competition, rosettes, cream teas, bunting. An out-of-time vision of
England; a safe harbour, where the roiling seas of division and desperation shouldn’t intrude. 

Bar the odd wasp sting, George and Maddy are expecting a quiet day. 

Except – half an hour before kick-off, a stranger appears in their gazebo. This is Usman – cheerful, gentle, quiet-spoken. Apparently the tent has been allocated to
him as a makeshift dressing room. For his ‘Special Performance’. 

So far, so unexpected. But then it gets weirder: it turns out Usman and George know each other from a former, almost unrecognisable life. A twist of ‘fete’, as
George might say. But when the penny drops, the fallout will turn this into a fete like no other… 

Pipeline Theatre uses comedy, heartbreak, music, a transmogrifying set, pin-sharp dialogue and indelible characters, to show that when caught in the riptide of
history, you never know who might just save your life…